Offenes Geheimnis

...how good this movie was!

I'd seen The Salesman, which is also directed by Asghar Farhadi and that was pretty decent so had reasonable expectations for this.

'Everybody Knows' is well shot and has excellent cinematography. The build up is slow with a 'who done it?' feel.

A relaxing and enjoyable watch. Just a shame I was the only one in the screen to enjoy this delightful movie

Everybody Knows evokes some contemporary moral dilemmas that play out in melodramatic relationships complicated by the questionable bond of trust among husbands, wives, and lovers. This movie is another perfect addition to Persian director Asghar Farhadi's resume as he is approaching international recognition by writing and directing multicultural film that includes actors such as Cruz and Bardem. This power couple make the film a pleasure to witness in terms of acting, as they are giving us pure emotions in their original language which seems effortless to both. A very emotional and thought-provoking journey that ends with all plot questions answered but leaves with the morality of the story to deal with on you.

It is Okey, every single actor is so damm good, on the leading roles Penelope Cruz does it great and Javier Bardem like usual is allright. The issue with this film is the third act, it isn't a good script ending. Sometimes it remind me to 2013 "Prisoners" with Hugh Jackman.

In order to get to a point where the story really begins to play out, there is a very long and unfocused backstory introduction. We don't really know what we are supposed to be taking note of. We feel like a fly on the wall, or indeed the drone filming the family wedding...too distant to be engaged in the real actions. We are given a few mis-directions and red herrings, not that we could ever work this out to begin with. We start to believe that a teenage girl has set up a huge scam. This is preposterous but we do so anyway. One character does suspect the truth and is alone in speaking out. Everyone else tip toes about keeping the secrets everyone else also knows. The victims are ultimately the ones who try to make amends. It's a sad tale where no one wins. A subtle and well made film of toxic family closeness.

It's long, but certainly not boring. Recently before seeing this I saw Prisoners and I was expecting the same kind of movie, but it wasn't. While Prisoners is very intense and really focused on solving the case, Everybody Knows is not that intense and exciting. But it is a really good movie, because you see the effect it has on everyone. And the amazing acting by the cast certainly helps.